By Kent Shimasaki
Parts procurement exchanges, component information systems (CIS), supply-chain management.... These terms are being tossed around today with increasing frequency in the electronics industry. The options the Internet has given design engineers are overwhelming, and, in most companies, this is further complicated by the need to integrate in-house CIS with supply-chain solutions.
Disconnected Processes
 Activeparts enables a design engineer to select a part with accuracy. |
Design engineers can go to a procurement Web site where they can search for a part and then purchase it. The technology behind these exchanges usually relies on "Web crawlers" that scour distributor Web sites and bring the information back to a designer's desktop. The designer can then purchase a part and incorporate its description into his schematic. But what if that part is at its end-of-life (EOL)? What if there was a part change notification (PCN) that the designer never saw because the exchange he visited did not have that information?
In-house CIS can give a design engineer a place to double-check part information for accuracy and can offer more information on a part than he would get through an exchange. But these systems are difficult to maintain, and checking back and forth between systems is a time sink.
In-house supply-chain management solutions (usually software) can address the link throughout the supply chain in case there is a PCN or EOL. The design engineer can let those involved with the process at a later stage know about these changes and save some time. But these systems are incomplete and offer no method of obtaining the information in the first place or of easily communicating this information down the line.
A Better Solution
A solution is available to the design engineer that can take him through the entire process from discovery through to communication and collaboration with other members of his design team, as well as with others involved with production and manufacturing. SpinCircuit's Activeparts was started by design engineers, for design engineers, to address inefficiencies in the component information and design-to-manufacturing process. The idea later developed into what is now available to fully address these issues with other solutions.
Like many collaborative product commerce companies' solutions, SpinCircuit offers a variety of services for communication and collaboration throughout the supply chain. Unlike a lot of these companies, however, many of these services can be used without enterprise installations.
Design-ready Content
Among the services for the design engineer is design-ready content, which is accessible directly from within the schematic entry tools. For those involved in a design-after-schematic entry, supply-chain-ready data is offered —dynamic information linked to specific components in a design that is continuously updated to keep the data fresh and the product design process on track.
Design-ready content begins with services such as Activeparts, which enables a design engineer to select a part with accuracy. Partnerships with distributors and suppliers make this possible because they ensure the data is up-to-date by providing it directly. The designer can make an informed part selection based on full PCN, EOL and errata information, as well as 24-hour online field-application engineer support. Information from companies' in-house databases can also be tapped for comparison and updating alongside the Activeparts search results. All types of components necessary for the design of printed circuit boards can be found in the Activeparts database, including passives and connectors.
Once a design engineer finds the part he wants, he can place it directly into his design because the service can be accessed directly through schematic entry tools. Once a part is inserted into a design, information on that part is kept up-to-date through back-annotation. New information regularly sent to SpinCircuit from suppliers and distributors is linked directly to specific parts that a design engineer has used and is sent immediately to that designer so his design remains accurate.
A design engineer's job is not done though when he finishes a schematic and creates a bill of materials (BOM). He may want to share data with others involved with the design creation process, or with others further down the supply chain. He may also get involved again as EOL and PCN information comes in.
The design engineer can do this with BOM and parts list generation, which he can store in his own online folder to be accessed by other specified members of his design team and supply chain. With supply-chain ready information, all data in a BOM is kept up-to-date throughout its life.
Conclusion
New trends in electronic product design and manufacturing are necessitating new solutions for those involved in every step of the process. Design and manufacturing are no longer taking place in a vacuum. The trend is increasingly to use an extended enterprise model so manufacturers, contract manufacturers and suppliers can regularly communicate and collaborate. Using design and supply-chain ready information services, as well as supply-chain and enterprise integration services that link external and internal information systems, is key to maintaining a competitive edge and meeting time-to-market requirements in this constantly changing environment.
KENT SHIMASAKI is Vice President of Marketing and Strategy, SpinCircuit Inc., 55 W. Trimble Rd., Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95131-1013; (408) 273-2100; (408) 273-2101; Web site: www.spincircuit.com.
